Scales of Justice

Character of Conversion

by Deacon Wayland Moncrief

Regardless of our moral or spiritual state, whether it be the most degenerate, or that of the highest sanctity, continual conversion is an absolute requirement of a Christian life. There's no way around it. No matter what our state of life, or the state of our faith, seeking enlightenment, being open to correction, and responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit are fundamental. And, we need to proceed in these in a spiritually enriching and organized manner.

So, why is conversion necessary?

1. For most of us, we are not always the best judges of our spiritual lives. In some ways we may be too lenient, in other ways we may be unnecessarily strict.
2. Or, we may not be aware of the blind spots in our life, or fully understand our roles as Christian disciples.
3. We may be content, thinking that we are fully living the life that Christ demands of us, but are in reality stuck in a state of mediocrity.
4. Or, we may assess our spiritual state in comparison to others, and conclude that we are good persons, and there is no need for change. However, in doing so, we completely miss the point. We are making false comparisons.

Our life on earth is a journey to eternal life. At our death we will not be judged as better or worse than our neighbor. We will be judged on our love, on our faithfulness, on our obedience, and on the purity of our hearts. We will be judged, rewarded or punished, according to our similarity to Christ.

As a quick check on our spiritual life, we can ask ourselves how similar are we to Jesus? Or, we may ask, in what ways am I least like Christ?

1. Are we as fervent as Christ in prayer?
2. Are we as dedicated to the salvation of others as Christ?
3. Are we willing to commit ourselves as completely to the Will of God as Jesus did?
4. Is God the be-all and end-all of our lives?
5. In short, at the end of our journey, when we stand before God, will He see His Son in us?
   1. Will He see the person we were created to be?
   2. Will we reflect His Image and Likeness?
   3. Or will He see a heart and mind that has not made full use of the gifts He has given us?

To be like Christ is indeed a very high bar, but striving to be like Christ needs to be prominent, to be what we envision, in all that we do. Yes, we may possibly avoid an eternity devoid of God's grace by living the life of a mediocre Christian, but we also need to recall that everyone in Heaven is a saint. And we will not get to heaven until we are saints. But, why stop at being a saint? Let your love propel you to the unimaginable heights of sanctity. So, the option is before us. We can seek the greatness of sanctity now, having all the treasures of the Church at our disposal, or we can delay the purification of our minds and hearts until we find ourselves in Purgatory, and can no longer perform acts of love and charity to atone for our sins.